{"id":22,"date":"2007-05-15T14:35:09","date_gmt":"2007-05-15T19:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/lighting_for_video\/triangle-lighting-for-video-production\/"},"modified":"2023-09-07T19:28:35","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T00:28:35","slug":"triangle-lighting-for-video-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/triangle-lighting-for-video-production\/","title":{"rendered":"Triangle Lighting for Video Production"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1R0iUxsWNJ0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nThis video demonstrates how to get easy triangle lighting, also called 3-point lighting, in videotaping a talking head video.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Triangle lighting creates spectacular lighting for video interviews.<\/strong> Triangle lighting is just what the name implies, light from three sources pointed at one subject.<\/p>\n<p>Here is a diagram of basic triangle lighting (also called three-point lighting)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18081 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/3-lights-diagram-.jpeg?resize=720%2C720&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"triangle lighting\" width=\"720\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/3-lights-diagram-.jpeg?w=720&amp;ssl=1 720w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/3-lights-diagram-.jpeg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/3-lights-diagram-.jpeg?resize=100%2C100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/3-lights-diagram-.jpeg?resize=600%2C600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/3-lights-diagram-.jpeg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Triangle lighting takes a bit more work, but the results are worth it.<\/strong> Next time you&#8217;re watching any show that features lots of interviews, examine the lighting critically.\u00a0 Can you see the halo effect, evidence of a backlight?\u00a0 How much difference is there between the bright side of the subject&#8217;s face and the darker side?\u00a0 How deep is the shadow caused by the nose?\u00a0 Are the eyes lit clearly?\u00a0 Are glasses causing an annoying glare?\u00a0 Is there a splash of dappled light on the background?\u00a0 Triangle lighting is a common professional technique.<\/p>\n<p>In triangle lighting, you have three light sources.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Key light<\/li>\n<li>Fill light<\/li>\n<li>Backlight<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7982\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7982\" style=\"width: 345px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7982\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Lowell-light-kit-core-250.jpg?resize=345%2C345&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"lighting for video\" width=\"345\" height=\"345\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Lowell-light-kit-core-250.jpg?w=345&amp;ssl=1 345w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Lowell-light-kit-core-250.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Lowell-light-kit-core-250.jpg?resize=100%2C100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Lowell-light-kit-core-250.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Lowell-light-kit-core-250.jpg?resize=50%2C50&amp;ssl=1 50w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 345px) 100vw, 345px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7982\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Although professional light kits are wonderful and give great results, you can still get quality results without them if you know how to take advantage of whatever light you do have.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>The key light should be the brightest of the three.<\/strong> As the name implies, it&#8217;s your main light.\u00a0 The key light should be placed, so it illuminates the majority of your subject&#8217;s face, and this usually means having your camera fairly close to the key light.\u00a0 The key light should be off to the side of the subject&#8217;s face, about 30 degrees.<\/p>\n<p>Your fill light should help do what the name implies, fill in the shadows created by your key light.\u00a0 Generally, you don&#8217;t want to eliminate these shadows completely, you simply want to make them less dense, so the key light should be less bright than your key light.<br \/>\nYour backlight gives your subject what&#8217;s called the halo effect, a bright rim of light which outlines the head and highlights the hair.\u00a0 It&#8217;s very flattering and helps your subject stand out from the background.<\/p>\n<p>Setting your backlight can be a bit tricky.\u00a0 You don&#8217;t want it to create lots of weird shadows on the face, so it needs to be relatively dim and directed well toward the back of the head.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Problems with back lighting include glare into your camera and unflattering shadows<\/strong> on your subject&#8217;s face or shoulders.\u00a0 In order to avoid those problems, make sure the backlight is placed enough to the side, so it won&#8217;t cause glare.\u00a0 To eliminate unwanted shadows, most backlights are fairly dim and rely heavily on barn doors.\u00a0 (Barn doors are defined completely below.) Barn doors are used to aim the light precisely where you want it and keep it off the places you don&#8217;t.\u00a0 If you don&#8217;t have barn doors, use aluminum foil.\u00a0 A special type of black foil is sold by professional lighting companies.\u00a0 It&#8217;s not very expensive and works better than aluminum foil, but aluminum foil is functional.\u00a0 DON&#8217;T use anything flammable, like newspapers.<\/p>\n<p>Another gadget, called a snoot, works much like barn doors but in my opinion is better for backlights because it&#8217;s easier to restrict your beam of light to your subject&#8217;s hair.\u00a0 A snoot is a black, metallic shield shaped kind of like a cylinder.\u00a0 It has a narrow hole in the front.\u00a0 Placed over the light, a snoot restricts the beam to a small circular one.\u00a0 Snoots are great, but not very common.<\/p>\n<p>Triangle lighting can be modified by adding a fourth light, called a background light.\u00a0 This light is just to brighten up your background and can help add a sense of depth to your shot.<\/p>\n<p>Since a bright background is a no-no (it creates a silhouette) the background light should be fairly dim.\u00a0 When you&#8217;re watching high quality documentaries, like what&#8217;s on the History Channel, most interviews are shot with intricate background lighting.\u00a0 The background lights are often colored with color gels and templates are placed over the light to give a dappled effect.\u00a0 Color gels are nonflammable plastic sheets you place in front of your light.\u00a0 They&#8217;re cheap, effective and come in all colors.\u00a0 Color gels are a great, inexpensive way for a low budget video to increase its professional appearance.<\/p>\n<p>The templates placed in front of light to create a dappled pattern are often made from foil.\u00a0 Rip off a sheet of foil, poke some holes in it and there you go!<\/p>\n<p>Triangle lighting and its variations are perfect for interviews.\u00a0 However, even in the professional world, not every interview rates triangle lighting.\u00a0 Often, interviews are done with only a key light.\u00a0 Sometimes a key and a fill will be used.\u00a0 Sometimes a key and a backlight will be used.\u00a0 It&#8217;s all acceptable, and some added light on an interview always looks much better than just relying on natural light.\u00a0 My habit was to light interviews but try to shoot supporting video (b-roll) in natural light.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How To Frame Up An Interview:<br \/>\n<\/strong>With interviews, you want what&#8217;s called a three-quarter profile of your subject.\u00a0 This means they&#8217;re not looking directly into the camera; they&#8217;re looking a little bit off camera. Put your interviewer between the camera and the key light and you will get a three-quarter profile.\u00a0 You&#8217;ll notice that having someone look directly into the camera gives a much different feel for the viewer than a three-quarter profile does.\u00a0 Hosts of TV shows look directly into the camera; interviews are almost exclusively three-quarter profiles.\u00a0 Viewers feel the difference, even if they never really see the difference.\u00a0 It boils down to what viewers are used to.<\/p>\n<p><strong>* TIP!<\/strong> Do grandma a favor; interview her in age-reducing, bright, yet super soft diffused light with a smidgen of a warm glow. \u00a0 Diffused light is very forgiving on faces and helps eliminate wrinkles or other flaws.\u00a0 The warm glow is provided by low-density orange, heat-retardant, plastic color gels.\u00a0 Here is a package of common color gel colors.\u00a0 For a face, use a light orange unless it is Halloween.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-18085 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/1387288302_1016197.jpg?resize=248%2C248&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"color gels for video production \" width=\"248\" height=\"248\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>* TIP!<\/strong> Sneak in a very directional, but diffused, light from below and make double chins disappear! What this does is eliminate the tiny shadow caused by the lovely extra chin.<\/p>\n<p><strong>*TIP!<\/strong> If you&#8217;re low on light when shooting, your close-ups will suffer more than your wide shots.\u00a0 The zoom lens automatically stops down the exposure as it goes in on a tight shot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>* TIP!<\/strong> Backlight is often very effective, but it&#8217;s not suitable for everyone.\u00a0 Pointing a narrow beam on the back of Grandma&#8217;s head might make her appear to be an angel, but don&#8217;t try this technique on bald Uncle Wilbur, because you&#8217;ll get nothing but glare!\u00a0 Generally speaking, good back lighting only works with hair, the more, the better.<\/p>\n<p><strong>* TIP!<\/strong> Barn doors are an indispensable tool to achieve quality lighting effects.\u00a0 They will control and shape the beam of light when you fold them in and block some of the light.\u00a0 Barn Doors consist of four black metal flaps that can be folded on a 180\u00b0 axis, completely, or partially blocking the light&#8217;s path from all four sides.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18078 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/barn-door.jpeg?resize=300%2C285&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"barn door on video light\" width=\"300\" height=\"285\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/barn-door.jpeg?w=300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/barn-door.jpeg?resize=150%2C143&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This can provide interesting and erratically shaped &#8220;spill&#8221; squishing out onto whatever you feel would benefit from such highlighting; or you can fold the barn doors to get a straight, focused, narrow beam.\u00a0 If you want to buy professional lights, get a barn door to go with each one.\u00a0 Here is a picture of a light with a barn door attached.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks for reading Video Production Tips<\/p>\n<p>Lorraine Grula<\/p>\n<p><strong>FOOD FOR THOUGHT<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In your own words, describe what triangle lighting is and why it is so commonly used.<\/li>\n<li>Name the three light sources in triangle lighting.<\/li>\n<li>What are two challengers to overcome when setting your backlight?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Discover all you need to know in this incredible article on lighting for video production.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[843,1740,1746,2601,146,1745,1335],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/Sunset-Nature-Pictures.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19179,"href":"https:\/\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22\/revisions\/19179"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}